Pioneer whiteness meets “multicultural” whiteness in farm communities in Washington state

Emphasizing symbolic/material intersections, I employ a spatial approach to contextualize whiteness in migrant farm communities in Washington state. Specifically, I argue that white identity is not detached from physical settings, but evolves in relationship to others in these concrete, but symbolically constructed, locations. Utilizing observations, interviews, and ethnographic mapping, I discuss how participants’ spatial narratives elucidate pioneer and “multicultural” expressions of whiteness. The citation of an agricultural ethos also pervades discourses of whiteness in this community. These specific articulations signal the resiliency of whiteness to morph in response to perceived threats to its position and assuage anxiety over demographic changes.     

Is multiculturalism a viable path in Chile? Intergroup and acculturative perspectives on Chilean society and Peruvian immigrants

Many Western democracies have implemented multiculturalism to integrate different minority groups, including immigrants. What happens with countries that are recently experiencing an increasing growth in their immigration rates? This is the case of Chile. As a consequence of continuing economic growth, it has become an attractive destination to people from neighbouring nations. Among these immigrants, Peruvians are the largest group. Since in Chile multiculturalism has started to become an issue of public opinion, the current study analyzed levels of endorsement of multiculturalism and differences in Socioeconomic Status (SES) among Chileans (N = 300) and Peruvian immigrants (N = 400). Based on the Instrumental Model of Group Conflict and Social Identity Theory, we tested predictors of multiculturalism. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between acculturation and intergroup variables in both samples. Findings showed Chilean endorsement of multiculturalism. This was negatively associated with perceived threat and Social Dominance Orientation, especially among people of low SES. Moreover, permeability and legitimacy proposed by Social Identity Theory emerged as important predictors of desire for separation among Peruvian immigrants. These results are discussed in terms of its conceptual and public policy implications in Chile.     

Whither multiculturalism? Global identities at a cross-roads

Technological advancement and the quantum leap in global trade had enabled many countries to enter an era of multiculturalism where intergroup contact with members of another ethno-cultural community is the norm rather than the exception. While this phase of economic development is considered progressive by many, it is also regarded as a perilous stage in nation building. Immigration, acculturation, and intergroup tensions will form the nexus of all future contestations with the various social groups negotiating with and/or vying against one another for political rights and status. At the same time, the notion of culture has become increasingly blurred given the multiplicity and interwoven nature of social identity arising from the transnational human movement and the transmission of values. With these considerations in mind, this chapter explores and extrapolates the emerging fabric of multiculturalism across various continents using a historical, socio-political, and psychological lens. Contemporary acculturation and intergroup frameworks are re-visited with the aim to discover new theoretical insights, while keeping in mind the possible trajectory of multiculturalism and how diversity will be managed in the decades to come.     

Acculturation preferences of majority and minority adolescents in Germany in the context of society and family

Four hundred and fifteen adolescents (134 German majority and 281 minority members) completed a questionnaire which measured attitudes towards acculturation, life satisfaction and intergroup relation variables. German majority members preferred integration followed by assimilation (according to Berry's taxonomy), while minority members had a clear preference for integration. Integration was more strongly associated with favourable intergroup relations and, in the case of minority members, life satisfaction, than the other acculturation orientations. Furthermore the study showed that discrepancies between own acculturation attitudes and perceived attitudes of the other group may influence life satisfaction and intergroup attitudes. Perceived acculturation preferences of the respondents’ parents were also examined. German majority adolescents perceived their parents’ attitudes as more favourable to exclusion than their own, and minority members perceived their parents’ attitudes as leaning more towards separation than their own. In the majority sample, these discrepancies were not related to any of the outcome variables, but in the minority sample they influenced life satisfaction, perceived quality of intergroup relations, and tolerance.     

从加拿大第12次全国大都市会议看后经济危机背景下的加拿大多元文化主义

2010年3月在加拿大的蒙特利尔市举行的第12次全国大都市会议围绕社会文化融合、经济与劳动力市场协调、家庭及青少年问题、住房、社区、城乡环境、社会公正和安全保障等六项议题展开研讨,以此次会议的宗旨和要义为主线,审视独特的加拿大多元文化主义治国策略在后经济危机背景下所发挥的作用,分析新历史条件和国际形势对多元文化主义政策的要求和挑战,展望理解、宽容、和谐、共荣的加拿大社会理念的发展愿景,以及对人类社会整体进步的促进和推动。     

教育理想的构筑——杜威民主主义与多元文化主义的比较研究

古今中外,无论哪个教育家、教育流派或教育思潮都守候着自己的一份教育理想,用不同的理论、经验和信念构筑心里美好的教育未来。杜威用民主主义教育思想构建了"民主共同体",多元文化教育提出了"文化共融"的理想社会状态。杜威的民主教育思想所构筑的社会理想与多元文化教育所规划的世界图景表现出来的相似性,并不是简单的时代上的连续性,更像是对理想社会核心价值诉求的借鉴与超越。     

The American Mosaic

The Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College, CUNY conducted a series of four conferences on the impact of America's increasingly diverse society on the curriculum of schools of library/information science. Each of the conferences had a library/information center type as its focus. Each addressed issues of administration, reference services, and collection management. The overall findings and some recommendations are included.     

Anarchism,the Chomsky Effect and the Descent from the Ivory Tower1

This paper examines how the Sydney Olympics Games’ opening ceremony presented images of a linear, multicultural, and chronological narrative of Australian history. However, the ceremony's attempts to manage difference produced multiple narratives of the Australian nation. Textual analysis of the Australian Channel 7 broadcast and newspaper coverage of the Olympics show how the ceremony's narrative of a united Australian nation responds to the increasing disintegration of nation-states’ boundaries in the context of globalization.     

多元文化背景下澳大利亚公民教育的特点及发展趋势

澳大利亚的多元文化特性使得公民教育的地位得以凸显,成为其民族统一、国家整合及不断向前发展过程中的重要因素.本文通过研究澳大利亚公民教育的理念、目标、内容、方法等,揭示其在发展过程中所形成的特点和未来的发展趋势,以期对我国当下的公民教育有所启示.     

Ethnic diversity and extremist attitudes in soccer teams: A multi-level investigation

It has been argued that sports contexts may be suitable venues for reducing intercultural hostility, including its more extreme forms, yet empirical evidence remains scarce. The present study investigated the main and interactive influence of two sets of factors on support for violent extremism: (a) ethnic diversity of teams, that is, the heterogeneity of the team members’ ethnic origins, and (b) team members’ intercultural perceptions, including perceived social capital, contact experiences and diversity ideologies within the team. Individual-level data from 257 players nested within 36 German soccer teams were combined with assessments of the ethnic diversity of each team based on a genealogical database. Multi-level analyses were conducted. Some evidence suggested that higher ethnic diversity within a team and frequent inter-ethnic contact between its players were associated with more extremism. However, cross-level moderation analyses showed that ethnic diversity was associated with less support for violent extremist groups when inter-ethnic contact quality was high. Perceptions of colorblind team ideologies that focus on minimizing/ignoring differences between groups were associated with lower threat perceptions and extremism. While social capital generally played little of a role, one social capital indicator, norms of behavior, was unexpectedly associated with higher threat perceptions. Overall, the present findings suggest that increasing ethnic diversity in sports teams may in itself not reduce extremist attitudes and sometimes may even backfire. Rather, how intercultural relations are managed within these contexts seems decisive. Prioritizing venues for positive contact experiences between soccer players of different backgrounds seems essential.